The Tip of the Arrow
by dodgingarrows
Summary: After a few months of peace in Starling City, a mysterious villain sends out a broadcast that threatens the safety of everybody in Starling and challenges the Green Arrow not to fail his city.
1. Chapter 1 - A Threat

" _The Tip of the Arrow_ "

" _Starling City_ _'_ _s Green Beacon of Hope_ _"_ a mysterious voice teased, " _Tonight, you will lose everything you hold dearest. Tonight, you will know the depths of your inability to change the course of your precious City_ _'_ _s fate - darkness, death and despair. Tonight Green Arrow, you will fail this city._ _"_

A tense silence filled the foundry as the team watched the screen fizzle audibly and turn to black. Oliver glared intently at the dark screen, enraged by the new content of information brewing in his head.

" _Felicity_ _"_ he growled sternly through clenched teeth.

" _I_ _'_ _m already on it_ _"_ she informed, tapping fiercely at the keyboard before her.

" _I_ _'_ _m hacking into every cellphone tower and frequency in the city trying to get a location ofnthe broadcast but the signal is being bounced around whenever a match is calculated_ _"_ she continued frantically.

Oliver exhaled loudly as he turned intently, heading towards his costume's encasing. Diggle clutched onto his arm inches before making contact with the enclosure stopping him in his tracks.

Oliver issued a piercing glare at him as he pulled his arm from his grip.

" _What are you doing Diggle?_ _"_ he asked sternly.

" _Oliver listen, you won_ _'_ _t be able to do anything going out there without a plan!_ _"_ Diggle rationalised.

" _I have to do something, I can_ _'_ _t just sit here waiting!_ _"_

" _That_ _'_ _s exactly what you_ _'_ _re going to do Oliver! The city can_ _'_ _t be saved if you_ _'_ _re out there chasing your tail doing exactly what they want you to!_ _"_

Felicity watched the two helplessly as her computer continued searching. A hole opened up in the pit of her stomach, she knew it was her job to handle all things technical and failing wasn't something that was in her nature.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Oliver.

" _Just do what you can Felicity_ _"_

Oliver headed towards the staircase and made his way out of the foundry.

Diggle turned towards Felicity who gave him a gentle and encouraging pat on the shoulder.

" _You know what he_ _'_ _s like_ _"_ she comforted.

" _It_ _'_ _s not just that Felicity_ " he hinted, turning his gaze towards her, " _I can_ _'_ _t shake this feeling of Deja Vu._ _"_

 _*_ Streets of Starling City*

Oliver navigated the busy streets of Starling City, his eyes catching the mysterious figure on news programmes and radios as his motorcycle dodged pedestrians and vehicles. His mind was reeling over who it could be that would want to bring about such chaos over the Green Arrow. The past few months had been relatively peaceful with barely any vigilant behaviour in the City.

His thoughts are interrupted by Felicity's voice in his earpiece.

" _Oliver, are you there?_ " she asked.

" _I am Felicity, what have you got?_

" _I_ ' _ve been analysing the feed and I was able to isolate a section of the footage that shows a shipping container with a singular logo that_ ' _s native only to one of Starling City_ ' _s docking stations._ "

" _Got it._ " Oliver replied as he accelerated towards the Docks.

" _It seems a little suspicious to have something like that in the frame of where it_ ' _s being broadcast from.._ " Felicity questioned, her discontent evident in how voice, " _It seems like it may be a trap._ "

 _*_ Starling City Docks*

He pondered on Felicity's suspicion as he arrived at the first section of the docks. An image of the shipping container's logo appeared on the LCD screen between his handlebars - a crucial upgrade courteous of Miss Smoak.

The insignia showed a hexagonal shape with the letters 'S.R.M' in the centre.

Oliver dismounted his bike placing his helmet over the handlebars, before pulling his bow from behind him and retracting it. He walked promptly along the sparsely lit docking entrances searching for the logo. At the time of night the main concentration of the docks is on the incoming shipments from large container carrying ships so it was unlikely that Oliver would come into any trouble searching the narrow one-vehicle-wide entrances.

Towards the end of the docks he could clearly see a white van parked alongside a large steel gate crowned with arrowheads. He could see a handful of large men in black combat-wear taking silver slate boxes from the side of the van and walking them into the compound.

Slowly Oliver paced towards the van, sticking closely to the shadows that the other docking stations are casting. The insignia on the back of the van came into his vision as he neared the entrance and he could clearly see it - 'S.R.M' in a hexagonal shape.

Oliver pressed his index finger to her earpiece and relayed his findings quietly to the Team.

" _There are steel crates being handled into the docking station by men in black combat wear_ " he announced, " _Have you found anything of significance with this shipping company?_ "

" _Most shipments made through that company are fresh produce and occasionally building materials_ " Felicity responded, the sound of her keyboard tapping transmitting through the earpiece also.

" _It_ ' _s unusual however that their shipments are outward goods, they specialise in inwards goods primarily - so I don_ ' _t think those steel crates are exactly on the books_ " she continued.

" _There_ ' _s only one crate left!_ " a demanding voice called from beyond the compound gate, catching Oliver's immediate attention.

" _Hudson, bring it in and don_ ' _t forget to lock that gate up tight - we don_ ' _t need any unwanted guests tonight_ " the voice continued.

Another man in combat attire paced towards the van to collect the final crate, the remaining thugs lingering inside the compound. Oliver pulled an arrow from his quiver and pulled it against the bow pointing it towards the ground as he watched the individual move closer and closer.

Upon reaching the handle to the van's sliding door, Oliver glided silently from the darkness and fired the equipped arrow into the individuals hand - pinning it against the handle. Before bellowing out in pain, Oliver motioned towards him and covered his mouth, the thugs eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the Arrow. A piercing glare is issued from Oliver as he ushered a 'shush' motion over his lips with his finger and slowly proceeded to remove his hand from the individuals mouth.

Adopting his Arrow voice he proclaimed sternly, " _Unless you want a hole in your other hand to match, you_ ' _ll tell me what you_ ' _re doing here!?_ "

Before the brute can utter a word, a voice is heard resonating from a speaker system - the same grimly taunting voice from the broadcast earlier that night.


	2. Chapter 2 - Backup

Oliver whipped fiercely towards the compound where the source of the voice was emitting from. Before his eyes was the mysterious figure once again projected upon the front face of the dock building. The background of the broadcast seemed to be identical to the previous broadcast from earlier that night.

The unidentifiable figure lurched inquisitively towards the camera and spoke.

" _Easy on now Green Arrow_ " the voice teased, " _There is no need for your violence fetish here._ "

" _Who are you!?_ _"_ Oliver demanded, " _And what is contained in these steel crates?_ _"_

The mysterious figure issued a single inwards chuckle to itself at the behest of the Arrow's distress.

" _All in good time_ _"_ he assured, a sense of amusement in his tone.

Oliver frowned at the screen, his lips contracting into a hard line. He reached for an arrow from his quiver and halted as the voice spoke again disrupting his motion.

" _By all means investigate S.R.M Shipping Master Archer - I can assure you my combat-ready men will make you feel right at home. Although I must disappoint you - you will not find yours truly residing in the domain. But no matter, just keep this message firmly planted in that destructive mind of yours - I will always have you right where I want you._ _"_

A menacing laugh erupted from the figure. Oliver continued his previously aborted motion and fired the arrow clutched in his grasp into the projector opposite the buildings exterior, cancelling the broadcast. Lowering his bow, he turned towards the brute pinned to the van and issued a concentrated blow to his face, rendering him unconscious.

It appeared that the additional men seen loading from the van initially were still within the S.R.M Shipping compound. Oliver found this curious as the noise from the broadcast would have easily travelled through the walls and alerted them.

Oliver pressed his index finger to his earpiece and transmitted to his Team back in the Arrow Cave.

" _I_ _'_ _m sure you_ _'_ _re onto this already Felicity_ _"_ he assumed.

" _I_ _'_ _m hurt you even thought otherwise Oliver_ _"_ she retorted playfully, " _I_ _'_ _m still unable to pinpoint a location of the broadcast but there_ _'_ _s still that logo on the container in the background_ _"_ she continued.

" _What about any voice recognition?_ _"_ Oliver enquired, hoping to find any information to go on.

" _Even though the voice seems to be transmitted through a voice scrambler, the resonance in the tone and the overall demeanour of our unknown evildoer appears to be male._ _"_

" _Thank you Felicity, I can always rely on you_ _"_ he acknowledged humbly.

A reserved smile branched across her face. She looked around herself in the foundry defensively to see if anybody was also listening and was promptly reminded that someone had left recently.

" _Diggle is on his way to your location now_ _"_ she added hesitantly, " _You can_ _'_ _t take on everything and everyone by yourself._ _"_

Sparing no time, Oliver swiftly moved towards the rear of the van and hauled the doors opened, vaulting inside. As the doors closed behind him he found that he was surrounded by black felt lining interior from top to bottom, with secluded individual storage compartments welded to the floor - one of them containing the final crate. Gingerly he pulled the steel containment from it's section and studied it closely.

The identical S.R.M insignia was plastered on the top of the sealed lid with an intricate locking system fastened by industrial strength padlocks along the rim. Oliver pulled on the locks though they did not budge. It would be a foolish act to force the locks off without knowing what is encased inside.

Oliver pressed his index finger to his earpiece and transmitted to Felicity and Diggle simultaneously.

" _There is one more container left inside the van_ _"_ he recounted, _"_ _From the physical strain I could see on those guards carrying them, I don_ _'_ _t think my motorcycle would carry the weight. Diggle can take it back to the foundry and we can see if it can be cracked opened - there_ _'_ _s some connection between everything going on here._ _"_

Oliver hauled the steel crate to the back of the van and exited with it thorough the rear doors, closing them gently behind him. Cautiously he peered towards the compounds entrance to find that presumably his presence was still unknown by the brutes inside and that he was still able to move around safely. He began to examine the environment surrounding the entrance to the desired compound.

S.R.M Shipping was neighboured on each side by various other shipping yards. The arrow-tipped steel gates prevented access from anybody without a key for the locks but since the now unconscious guard pinned to the van left it half opened, entrance to the compound was granted.

Inside the perimeter, empty pallets were stacked and strewn about the courtyard leading towards a large roller door from which the brutes had moved to and from to collect the steel crates. The building itself was 3 storeys high - not unusual for a shipping compound storing large quantities of goods.

Oliver contemplated his next move as to how he will enter the building without being detected. The mysterious man featured in the broadcasts may have been bluffing when he assured that he was not in the vicinity, in an attempt to prevent the Arrow from entering at all. An entrance through the roller door would be unsuitable as it is likely that the combatants inside would be alarmed. With that in mind Oliver glanced upward to the roof of the structure and identified the thick wooden foundation beams running between the stories of the building and sticking out at the ends, speculating they are keeping balance and stability to the building's height.

An infiltration from above - it will allow for an inspection of the interior to gain an advantage whilst staying out of sight.

An oncoming vehicle along the alleyway abruptly caught Oliver's attention. From between the van and the dumpsters where he had been concealed, Oliver relaxed as he noticed the number plate - D1G GL3. He moved into view of the headlights and began to motion towards his comrades van with the steel crate still in his grasp.

" _You really shouldn_ _'_ _t have gotten me a present_ _"_ John joked teasingly, watching his masked friend pass by his window. He made eye contact with himself in the rearview mirror and smirked, thinking his remark was rather humorous.

He turned towards the centre and stepped through to open the van's doors. They swung wide opened and Oliver moved inwards and placed the obscure crate into the back.

" _You need to get this back to Felicity so she can work at cracking it open safely_ _"_ Oliver urged, " _There could be anything inside so be careful - it could be explosive, toxic, fragile - anything_ _"_ he continued.

" _Oliver I_ _'_ _m not leaving you alone out here_ _"_ John declared, a discontent frown flashing across his face, " _You need me as backup, even if you don_ _'_ _t want to admit it._ _"_

Oliver motioned to respond but held his tongue, realising arguing was futile as he knew how these exchanges usually went. He nodded in compliance with his ally and issued him a soft smile.

The two exited the van and tentatively crept towards the shipping yard, a steadied pistol equipped in John's hands and a raised and readied bow and arrow in Oliver's. The steel arrow-tipped gate remained half perched opened as the two slipped between the gap and into the compounds courtyard. The cold night's wind whipped between the buildings facades and rattled nearby roller doors.

They reached the closed roller door in the courtyard and John turned to Oliver inquisitively. Oliver simply gave him an upwards gesture with his eyes as he peered towards the sky and fired his arrow, a thick cable lashing rapidly after it as it reached a visible foundation beam tip and wrapped tightly around it. Oliver pulled on his bow creating tension against the grappled cable and looked towards his buddy whose eyes drifted above and followed the cable back down.

John looked at Oliver displeased and sighed, "Man I need some new gadgets."


	3. Chapter 3 - Inside the Compound

Oliver repeated his previous action and fired an identical arrow upward towards another foundation beam, this time removing the reeled section from his bow and handing it to Diggle.

" _Attach this to your belt_ _"_ Oliver instructed, " _Pull against the cable to release the tension when you want to reel up._ _"_

John examined the reel as he clasped it onto his belt buckle, a harsh snap locking it safely against him. He peered towards Oliver hesitantly before gently tugging on the cable. The reel pulled tightly against his stature pulling him forwards, his feet having to balance and pace his oncoming accent. He positioned his feet one foot after another and pressed his heels against the wall as the grappled cable pulled him above. Reaching the foundation Diggle pulled himself onto it and exhaled audibly, relaxing himself.

Upon seeing Diggle had reached the top, Oliver pulled his taut bow against the cable releasing the reels locking mechanism, pulling him skyward. He perched atop the foundation beam and made eye contact with his peer offering him a spirited smile.

Above the beams protruding from the exterior walls were half metre wide breaches in the infrastructure. The gaps in the building allowed for toxic fumes and intense heat to drift from within the inside containments so as not to conceal anything inside to endanger the workers welfare. Architectural loopholes like these are beneficial for 2/3rds of Team Arrow's current infiltration.

The two moved with the beams and entered the facility via the gaps. Inside, numerous foundation beams linked the parallel ones together allowing for Oliver and Diggle to converge. The two perched behind a structural pillar and looked between the lower levels towards the ground.

S.R.M steel crates were stacked in the centre of the facility under a bright floodlight with everything else fading into darkness. There was no movement or audible noise to be heard within the building and the henchmen from before were not in sight.

John pulled his handgun from his holster and aimed it towards the crates. He locked eyes with Oliver and gestured with a head nod for him to jump down and study below while he covers him from his current position. Acknowledging John's plan Oliver dropped from the rafters onto a crate of unknown sealed boxes, and further onto the concrete flooring.

Still mildly concealed in darkness Oliver peered around the curiously quiet and motionless space. Something about it obviously did not feel right - the men from before couldn't just vanish. Oliver reached for an arrow from his quiver and perched it against his bow as he motioned as softly as he could towards the silver slate crates.

Unknowingly, Oliver's foot moved slightly within reach of the floodlight's beams as he neared the mysterious crates. Every light source within the compound one by one suddenly began to ignite audibly, revealing the previously darkness-shrouded remnants within. Oliver looked to each fluorescent glow as it came to life while taking in the surroundings now becoming clear - his bow mirroring his eye's movements.

Finally a resounding thrush of lights shone bright several metres above the Arrow revealing the absent man-power seen outside the compound earlier. 4 combat-ready assailants stood stoutly behind 4 dockworkers in their uniforms. Oliver began to assess the situation immediately, taking into account the number of assailants above him and more importantly the thick ropes suspended from the steel ventilation pipes above - the opposite end of the ropes bound around each dock workers neck.

A blatant screech ringed through Oliver and Diggle's earpieces, the two physically cowering to the harsh sound in their ears.

" _Every choice has a reaction, no matter how big or how small_ " the mysterious man announced through earpiece, " _and tonight you chose to enter this compound uninvited_ _"_ he continued.

Oliver, in distress, began to look around him to identify whether the source was coming from his close proximity. Diggle alternated the aim of his handgun between each of the four aggressors heads behind the hostages. He chose not to announce anything through the earpiece to Oliver in order to retain his seclusion from the communication invader.

" _I think it_ _'_ _s about time I stand by my promise to you earlier tonight_ _"_ the unknown man notified, his enjoyment in the sadistic nature of the situation evident in his tone.

Back in the foundry, Felicity frantically attempted to combat against the intrusion to the communication and locate it's source simultaneously. She breathed heavily as she typed, feeling a broken sensation inside that her security had failed - another technological aspect that she has not been able to overcome. But she would not give up, her team needed her now one hundred percent.

The mercenary on the left advanced forward and placed his hands on the hostages shoulders directly in front of him, pushing him towards the edge of the steel-grated balcony. The hostage screamed out in terror from behind the masking tape gags. The intent was quite clear as their was little slack remaining in the hanging ropes and noosed ends around their necks. From left to right, the remainder of the men pushed their hostages to the edge of the balcony in a similar fashion.

" _These people are innocent, you don_ _'_ _t need to do this_ _"_ Oliver proclaimed boldly. A tightly pulled arrow was now pulled rigidly against his chest with the arrow tip pointed directly at the length of the rope above the far left hostage's head. Diggle shifted his sights to the lengths of rope above the hostages on the right in preparation.

Silence filled the docking warehouse for a few seconds, Oliver and Diggle waited anxiously as the mans resounding voice spoke again.

" _I will let you choose which one of these men will live tonight_ _"_ he proclaimed, " _but if you attempt to save all of these hostages - I will hang them all._ _"_

Oliver narrowed his eyes and breathed deeply, his heartbeat slowing. He lightly tilted his head as his fiery glare remained fixed on the hostages, his shoulder clicking the button on his earpiece.

As if almost barely audible, he whispered into his microphone " _take the two on the right_ _"_ _._

John pressed his finger against the trigger and fired his readied single shot, it's ferocity and speed searing through the length of rope reaching towards the pipelines. With the gunshot as his trigger, Oliver maintained his undivided focus on his target and released the drawn arrow launching it towards the far left length of binding splitting it in two. The two now freed hostages fell forwards from their bonds and landed safely onto the stacking of pallets below them. As they began to scramble out of potential harm's way, John and Oliver shifted their aim to the 2 remaining hostages.

An arched arm movement by one of the combatants seized the Arrow's attention as he turned his aim to the hostages. Diggle's second round fired at the tussled rope freeing the third captive. As he motioned to retrieve another arrow from his quiver, a black handgun came into view pulled from the mercenaries utility belt. Simultaneously, his arrow was pulled and strained against the bow as the handgun raised from the aggressor's waist to the final hostages head. Before Oliver could alter his aim to the assailant, the harsh piercing shot shuddered throughout his body. His eyes widened in shock as the victims head was thrown forward by the impact, the body buckling under the loss of it's control and lunged forward. The lifeless body crumbled before the rope pulled against it, a blatant crack as it pulled the body against the force of gravity. It swayed rigidly left and right, the suspended image engraving it's severity into Oliver's head.

The sharp whiz of a bullet passed by Oliver's ear in his shocked state. Coming back to the moment, he moved himself behind the S.R.M container's covering from fire. Diggle's heart sank to it's lowest as he watched on from above. Two of the gunmen had veered their attention to his position above and began firing.

Oliver breathed outward heavily in his rising anger. He twisted the arrowhead of his current arrow which began to flash a red LED blinking light. Motioning to the right of his cover, he projected the arrow towards the responsible mercenary. Upon impact the arrowhead exploded and engulfed the four gunmen, knocking them below to the concrete ground bottom level unconscious. A few silent seconds passed as the two took in everything that had just occurred.

" _This is the reaction to your choice_ _"_ the man voiced softly breaking the silence, " _follow the rules or you will be drowned in death._ _"_ The earpiece fizzled loudly as the communication was broken. Oliver pulled his earpiece from his ear in fury and flung it at the ground, shattering it. He remained fixed upon the haunting deceased body still swaying hypnotically above.

" _Oliver_ _"_ Diggle called strongly as he descended from the rafters. He bound onto some stored boxes and onto floor level. Oliver whipped to his direction, his heartbreak and livid anger battling and interlocking behind his brutal glaze.

" _We_ _'_ _re gonna get that son of a bitch_ _"_ Diggle reassured, his determination radiating. Oliver bowed his head in accordance and huffed outwardly. He turned himself away and headed intently towards and up the flight of stairs adjacent to the walkway. He paced gingerly to the location of the shooting and hesitated his last step as he neared the hanging body. His facial expression visibly fell as he viewed the corpse before him. Pulling the body towards him, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and sliced the rope, the limp limbs falling onto him lifelessly as he placed him cautiously on the balcony.

Tears began to well up in his eyes as he inspected the pale face and severely bruised neck face of the victim he had failed. As his focus fell downward he was drawn to the sewn inscription on the right pocket of his uniform.

 _Roy._

Oliver lowered his head in defeat, his failure completely overpowering him. Another Roy he has failed.

" _Oliver_ " John interrupted in urgency, " _Felicity_ _'_ _s got something._ _"_


End file.
